Cardiac ‘Cuse lived up to the name after beating No. 1 ranked Duke 95-91 in a dramatic overtime at Cameron Indoor Stadium. With 18 ties and 13 lead changes over the course of the game, the showdown will live long in the memories of those who bleed orange.
Duke (14-2, 3-1) was the heavy favorite coming into the game but the unranked Orange (12-5, 3-1) was undaunted and trailed the Blue Devils by only one or two points for the better part of the game. After a heartbreaking Sweet Sixteen loss against Duke last season, Syracuse arrived in Durham, North Carolina with high hopes for an upset - which is exactly what it came away with.
Duke Freshman Tre Jones initially came out as a force to be reckoned with and helped the Blue Devils garner an 11-0 lead less than three minutes in, but was removed from the game with a shoulder injury following a collision with Syracuse’s Frank Howard. Duke freshman Cam Reddish was also missing from the starting lineup while he’s recovering from an illness; the absence two of Duke’s strongest proved to be extremely detrimental to the team’s defense and the Orange took advantage.
Since the season’s beginning, the nation has been watching Duke’s freshman powerhouse Zion Williamson, and this game again proved why. Williamson led his team with 35 points and made 10 of 14 free throws. Unfortunately for the Cameron Crazies it wasn’t enough — the Orange made 40% of shots from the three versus Duke’s 20.9%.
Elijah Hughes was the star of the first half after launching the ball from the opposite free throw line in an immaculate buzzer shot, bringing his game total to 18 points at halftime. While Hughes faltered in the second half, Tyus Battle charged the net with unprecedented aggression, finishing the game having made all seven free throws and leading the Orange with 32 points. In a press conference following the game, Coach Boeheim just how critical Battle had been:
“In the beginning, without Tyus, we were out of the game — we were never getting in the game. He took over, he made two or three hard shots, really hard drives.”
Duke began to pull away a little bit into the second half and even got as far ahead as an eight-point lead, led by Williamson. The lead did not last long as Howard stepped up and closed the gap. With 15 seconds left in regulation, Williamson had an opportunity to give the Blue Devils the lead, but only made one of his free throws, wrapping up the second half with an 85-85 tie.
Moving into overtime, the Orange won the tipoff and within seconds Hughes made a layup. Duke’s Alex McConnell responded with a three-pointer of his own, but in the end it was Pascal Chukwu who made the last four points that solidified Syracuse’s win.
The win offers Syracuse some hope after a tough loss against Georgia Tech, which is considered to be one of the ACC’s weaker teams. The Orange has the rest of the week to prepare to face the Pittsburgh Pirates at home in the Carrier Dome.